How to Calculate the Score of Your Cambridge Exam

Since I posted the article about the minimum score needed to pass each Cambridge Assessment English exam, I have received many questions by email and comments which proves that most of you guys don’t know how to calculate the score of your Cambridge exam. For this reason, in this post I’m going to tell you exactly how to work out the score of your Cambridge English test. So, because of the popularity, I’m going to focus on Cambridge’s most popular exams nowadays: B1 Preliminary (PET), B2 First (FCE) and C1 Advanced (CAE). So check this out, coz you’re in for some interesting stuff.

How to Calculate the Score of your Cambridge English Exam

In short, in order to calculate the score of any Cambridge test, you simply have to do the following:

Add up the points of each part of the test.

Calculate the percentage of each part.

Calculate the average score of all the parts.

Convert your percentage using Cambridge’s calculator.

However, simple though these steps may seem, the first thing you ought to do if you want to calculate your test score is to know your exam inside out. I mean, you need to know how many parts it’s got and how much each item is worth. For this reason, in the following sections I’m going to outline each test, with all its parts and items, and I’m going to tell you exactly how much each item is worth.

How to calculate the score for B1 Preliminary (PET)

The B1 Preliminary (PET) test has 4 components (known as papers) and each one has different parts. Let’s see:

Reading: 35 items = 35 points (1 item = 1 point)

Part 1: 5 items

Part 2: 5 items

Part 3: 10 items

Part 4: 5 items

Part 5: 10 items

Minimum score to pass: 25 points

Writing: 7 items = 25 points

Part 1: 5 items = 5 points

Part 2: 1 items = 5 points

Part 3: 1 items = 15 points

Minimum score to pass:17 points

Listening: 25 items = 25 points (1 item = 1 points)

Part 1: 7 items

Part 2: 6 items

Part 3: 6 items

Part 4: 6 items

Minimum score to pass: 18 points

Speaking: 30 points in total (not divided into parts or items). In this case, the score is assigned to different competences:

Grammar & vocabulary: 5 points

Discourse: 5 points

Pronunciation: 5 point

Interaction: 5 points

Global: 10 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Minimum score to pass: 18 points

Great. Now we know how much each part is worth in the B1 Preliminary (PET). Now I’m going to explain how to calculate your B1 Preliminary score. Now, pay attention, because there’s math ahead 🤓:

Use this calculator to transform the percentage into the Cambridge English Scalescore. On the left choose “Cambridge English: Preliminary (PET) taken before 2015”. If you introduce 72%, it will transform it into 142 points, which means I would have passed.

Finally, if you want to know if you have a low or high score, here’s the different ranges you can get depending on your score:

Level A2 (failed): 120 – 139

Pass: 140 – 152

Pass with Merit: 153 – 159

Pass with Distinction (Level B2): 160 – 170

How to calculate the score for B2 First (FCE)

The B2 First (FCE) has 5 components and each one has a particular number of parts and items. Read the following information carefully, because while the test is done in 4 parts, it has 5 components because the Reading and the Use of English are assessed separately:

Reading: 30 items = 42 points

Part 1: 8 items (1 item = 1 point)

Part 5: 6 items (1 item = 2 points)

Part 6: 6 items (1 item = 2 points)

Part 7: 10 items (1 item = 1 point)

Minimum score to pass: 24 points

Use of English: 22 items = 28 points

Part 2: 8 items (1 item = 1 point)

Part 3: 8 items (1 item = 1 point)

Part 4: 6 items (1 item = up to 2 points)

Minimum score to pass: 18 points

Writing: 2 items = 40 points

Part 1: 1 item = 20 points

Part 2: 1 item = 20 points

Minimum score to pass: 24 points

Listening: 30 items = 30 points (1 ítem = 1 point)

Part 1: 8 items

Part 2: 10 items

Part 3: 5 items

Part 4: 7 items

Minimum score to pass: 18 points

Speaking: 60 points in total (not divided into items or parts). In this case, the score is assigned to different competences:

Grammar & vocabulary: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Discourse: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Pronunciation: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Interaction: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Global: 20 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 4)

Minimum score to pass: 36 points

Okay, so now the process to calculate your score is easy peasy. Pay attention, because I’m going to tell you exactly how to calculate your B2 First score, but be careful not to make a mistake, because it’s pretty easy to mess up. Follow these steps:

Use this calculator to transform the percentage into the Cambridge English Scalescore. On the left choose “Cambridge English: First (FCE) taken before 2015”. If you introduce 70%, it will transform it into 169 points, which means I would have passed.

Now, if you want to know if you have a low or high score, here’s the different ranges you can get depending on your score:

Nivel B1 (failed): 140 – 159

Grade C: 160 – 172

Grade B: 173 – 179

Grade A (Level C1): 180 – 190

How to calculate the score for C1 Advanced (CAE)

The B2 First (FCE) has 5 components and each one has a particular number of parts and items. Read the following information carefully, because while the test is done in 4 parts, it has 5 components because the Reading and the Use of English are assessed separately::

Reading: 34 items = 50 points

Part 1: 8 items (1 item = 1 point)

Part 5: 6 items (1 item = 2 points)

Part 6: 4 items (1 item = 2 points)

Part 7: 6 items (1 item = 2 points)

Part 8: 10 items (1 item = 1 point)

Minimum score to pass: 32 points

Use of English: 22 items = 28 points

Part 2: 8 items (1 ítem = 1 point)

Part 3: 8 items (1 ítem = 1 point)

Part 4: 6 items (1 ítem = up to 2 points)

Minimum score to pass: 16 points

Writing: 2 items = 40 points

Part 1: 1 item = 20 points

Part 2: 1 item = 20 points

Minimum score to pass: 24 points

Listening: 30 items = 30 points (1 item = 1 point)

Part 1: 6 items

Part 2: 8 items

Part 3: 6 items

Part 4: 10 items

Minimum score to pass: 18 points

Speaking: 75 puntos in total (not divided into items or parts). In this case, the score is assigned to different competences:

Grammar: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Lexis: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Discourse: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Pronunciation: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Interaction: 5 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 2)

Global: 25 points (up to 5 points, but multiplied by 5)

Minimum score to pass: 45 points

Okay, so now the process to calculate your score is easy peasy. Pay attention, because I’m going to tell you exactly how to calculate your C1 Advanced score, but be careful not to make a mistake, because it’s pretty easy to mess up. Follow these steps:

Use this calculator to transform the percentage into the Cambridge English Scalescore. On the left choose “Cambridge English: First (FCE) taken before 2015”. If you introduce 72%, it will transform it into 190 points, which means I would have passed.

Now, if you want to know if you have a low or high score, here’s the different ranges you can get depending on your score:

Nivel B2 (failed): 160 – 179

Grade C: 180 – 192

Grade B: 193 – 199

Grade A (Level C2): 200 – 210

Soooooo, what’s up? Did you manage to calculate the score of your Cambridge Exam? If not, please write a comment below and ask whatever you need to know. I’m here to help you!

Hi Juliana. Thanks for your comment. For some reason, the score converter isn’t showing up on Cambridge’s website. I hope they fix it soon. As for the calculator, you shouldn’t have any problems. You should simply click the button, enter your email, confirm your email address and then download it from the next email. It’s a double opt-in confirmation process to avoid bots and spammers. If you can’t find the first confirmation email, look in your “promotions” folder. Sometimes Gmail puts it there instead of in the main inbox. Let me know if you have any problems.

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to download the calculator because when I click on the button, nothing happens.
I have another question about the score of Preliminary.
If I sum up R(35) + W(25) + L(25) + S(25) the final score is 110. I wonder if the writing and the speaking are supposed to be 20 points each instead of 25.

It’s very strange that the button doesn’t do anything. Have you tried on a computer with different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc.)?
As for the question, first of all, you shouldn’t add the points like that, because if you do, the Reading would weigh more than the rest. You have to treat each part separately and then make each part count 25%. The easiest way to do it is by calculating the percentage of each part and then calculating the average between the 4 scores. It’s all explained in the article. The points of the test DO NOT correspond to the points in the Cambridge Scale. Read the article carefully and follow the instructions. It’s all explained there.

I may have not myself clear. I know that the points do not correspond to the Cambridge Scale, my concern is related to the score of writing and speaking. For instance, the writing has 3 parts (P1 5points, P2 5points, P3 15points). In part 1 there are 5 sentences to transform, so it’s easy to do the math. In part 2, there are 4 criteria to take into consideration (Content, Communicative Achievement, Organization, and Language) 5 points each. So I calculate the average between those 4 criteria, right?

So let’s say a student scored 4/5 in part 1 and the average of part 2 is 4,5/5. Since part 3 is also a writing task and the 4 criteria have to be analyzed, how do I transform it in 15 points? For instance, a student scores 3 in content, 3 in communicative achievement, 4 in organization and 4 in language. What should I do next? I thought I had to sum them but the maximum score would be 20 instead of 15. Does my question make sense?

This is my first time trying to sum a Cambridge test so I hope I’m not bothering you with my questions. What’s more, I read the article carefully but still haven’t understood how to calculate the writing and speaking part. Cheers!